1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and devices for ridding house pets of fleas and flea eggs.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
House pets have increasingly gained favor as family companions in domestic households in recent years, but such pets have consistently been plagued with fleas. The genus of "fleas" includes numerous, small, wingless, blood sucking insects of the order Siphonaptera, which are parasitic upon mammals and birds, and which are noted for their powers of leaping. Fleas find a very favorable environment in the furry coats of household pets, which are frequently kept indoors and are not exposed to great temperature extremes. Fleas lay their eggs and raise their larva amidst the protection of the fur coat of a housepet, typically a dog or a cat. Fleas survive by inflicting painful bites upon their host animal to penetrate the animal's skin to gain nourishment from the blood of the animal. While house pets themselves seek to abate the discomfort and pain which fleas inflict upon them, their only recourse in this regard is to scratch or lick at an afflicted area on their bodies. This is almost entirely ineffective in ridding the animals of these parasitic pests, and at best serves only to drive the fleas from an area of particular irration on the host animals body.
Pet owners have long sought to ease their pets discomfort from fleas by various means of flea eradication. Bathing the animals with soap having insecticidal properties is one means commonly used to kill the fleas on a pets body and to ease the animals discomfort. However, the soap employed is very irrating to the animals eyes, nose and mouth. Consequently, it is very difficult to bathe this area of the animals body. Also, fleas tend to migrate to the animals head and thereby escape extermination during the bathing process. Furthermore, many pets are afraid of the partial immersion in water which is necessary in the bathing procedure. As a consequence, these pets become excited and must be physically restrained and held in the bathing area. This requires considerable effort on the part of the pet owner and tends to make the process of flea extermination by bathing both arduous and infrequent. Moreover, even after the animal has been bathed other fleas hiding in the vicinity, such as in carpeting, quickly jump on the animal as it passes following a bath so that the pet's comfort from bathing is relatively brief.
Another method of treatment of housepets for fleas involves the use of flea powders and flea collars. Both the powders and collars employ harsh chemical substances which exhibit insecticidal qualities when fleas are exposed thereto. However, flea powders must be rubbed into an animals coat to perform their intended function and frequently lead to dusty spots on the pet owners clothing and on the carpeting in the domicile. Flea collars are impregnated with chemical substances which emit a vapor that tends to retard the propogation of fleas. However, the chemicals employed also tend to cause considerable irritation in the neck area of the house pet about which they are placed.